David Gormley-O’Brien’s passion for sustainability has inspired positive change in the Macedon Ranges.
Last week he was honoured as Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Citizen of the Year.
David’s interest in sustainability grew when he and his partner, Sara, moved to a small Woodend property in 2008 that they transformed to provide a high degree of food self-sufficiency.
In 2014, David and friends launched the Woodend Bee-Friendly Society, which David led for the first four years.
“The intent was to create a really friendly and inclusive group where people could share their knowledge,” he said.
The society has since become the second-largest beekeeping group in Victoria. It is part of the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, a non-profit organisation promoting sustainable living, of which David is now president.
And that group has remained active despite pandemic challenges with a 500-strong membership base.
MRSG’s action groups undertook several projects facilitating solar installations on CFA stations in Malmsbury and Newham, the Woodend Neighbourhood House and Kyneton Caring Community. It also seeks to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income families in order to bring comfort and wellbeing benefits to the occupants.
“The majority of MRSG’s action groups have soldiered on and adapted throughout the pandemic,” David said.
He named one of the recent highlights as the teamwork behind safely operating the Woodend Farmers Market.
“From the very beginning of the COVID crisis we identified the market as an essential service,” he said.
“It has helped to ensure food security for the Macedon Ranges, while providing employment and income for those producers.”
Other highlights include the Vege Action Group’s Get to Know Your Grower website launch promoting local farm-gate sales, restaurants and producers, and the Waste Action Group’s Wash Against Waste movement.
David said MRSG had been a way for the community to come together through shared interests while educating and creating new interest through its work.
